Ocean Beach

While I don't know if I expressly needed to know more about the women from Ten Beach Road, I am very glad Wax decided to tell more of their story. The lives of three women, upended by a Ponzi-like scheme in the previous book, intersect again as they head to a run down home called The Millicent to renovate for a shot at a cable tv show. The cable network has other ideas, of course, and the addition of more cameramen take this to a more reality show level. Maddie, Avery and Nicole all struggle with various family issues as the point of view moves back and forth from one to another. I liked that Maddie's daughter Kyra's story was continued as well and enjoyed the descriptions of the nautical/deco style house. The owner, Max Golden, former show more vaudeville star, brought another nice angle to the story. show less

The ladies from Ten Beach Road are back! We first met these “extreme home makeover” ladies in Ten Beach Road.

Nicole still has money problems and Maddie’s marriage may or may not be in trouble, she isn’t quite sure . Avery is still trying to reestablish herself as a serious architect while she is forced to work with Deirdre, the mother who abandoned her at a young age.

Kyra is back, Maddie’s young daughter who is a single Mom due to a celebrity affair that was in all the tabloids!

Before I go any further if you have not read Ten Beach Road you do not need to in order to enjoy this novel. Although I would recommend it as a good beach read.

These ladies have a new reality show called “Do-Over” and have been hired to make over a show more once grand mansion in Miami’s South Beach area. Meet Max (one of my favorite characters) the 90-year-old charming homeowner and ex-vaudeville entertainer. Max has a decades old mystery that needs to be solved.

Nicole, Maddie, Avery and Kyra soon find out reality television is intrusive, has a shooting schedule that is not in their control and is covering more than just the remodel on the house. The producers of the show want to cover Kyra’s celebrity tabloid problems!

I like the parallel, the ladies re-do homes and try to re-do their lives at the same time. This book has a little bit of everything, romance, comedy, mystery, drama and a lot of southern charm!

The setting ,the somewhat quirky characters and all of their drama make this a fun book to read.This review was originally posted on show less

Ocean Beach is the sequel to Ten Beach Road, a story of three women who lost all the savings to a Ponci scheme. The three main characters are Maddie, a housewife who is force to save her family because her financial planner husband, Steve can not, Avery, the almost silent partner of a fixer-up television and Nicole, the owner of a million dollar dating service. Each inherit one third of a home on the West Coast of Florida.

Ocean Beach opens several months after the end of Ten Beach Road. The house that the women remodeled as not sold but there is promise in the wind with a new Lifetime Show "Do Over" starring
Avery and her long-lost Mother, Maddie and her daughter and grandson, Nicole and Max, the owner of the Miami based fixer-upper show more house.

The story is a mixture of laughter, tears, mystery, and drama in tony area of Miami beach. It is a perfect summer beach read with endearing characters. show less

Just as well written and silly, maybe sillier, than the first one, but it sure was fun to read.

I read Ten Beach Road, and was excited to continue hearing from the characters I love....three women in need of a second chance…

Unlikely friends Madeline, Avery and Nicole have hit some speed bumps in their lives, but when they arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they are all hoping for a do-over. They’ve been hired to bring a once-grand historic house back to its former glory on a new television show called Do-Over.

If they can just get this show off the ground, Nikki would get back on her feet financially, Avery could restart her ruined career, and Maddie would have a shot at keeping her family together. At least, that’s the plan – until the women realize that having their work broadcast is one thing, having their show more personal lives play out on TV is another thing entirely.

Soon they are struggling to hold themselves, and the project, together. With a decades-old mystery—and the hurricane season—looming, the women are forced to figure out just how they’ll weather life’s storms.

(Since I live in South Florida, love the South Beach connection)!! show less

Not my favorite of the series - not just the murder and death of a favorite,
but the plot plodding along when Giraldi should have instantly nailed Pamela as the prime suspect.
The chandelier coincidence was also an unfortunate twist.

This is the second book in the trilogy and you really need to read book 1 to fully understand the characters. Maddie, Avery and Nicole are filming a pilot for a reality show called Do-Over and have a house to re-do in South Beach. This time, they start out as friends but run into many obstacles. Along with the work involved with the house, there is the old vaudeville owner who they all come to love, the cameraman for the network, the jealous husband, the actor father and various other character and sub plots. Just as with book one, this isn't a deep book and its all pretty predictable but its fun to read and the main characters are all very likable. Its a fun summer book!